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Tuesday, February 9, 2016

WILD AT HEART (Healing Harts #4) by T.J. Kline

Sometimes the place you’re trying to run from is exactly where your heart needs to be…

Bailey Hart has never felt like she measures up to her cousins at Heart Fire Ranch. It doesn’t help that her rocker attitude has made her a black sheep in her small town. So when her band gets their big break in Los Angeles, “Wild Hart” can’t run fast enough…If only there weren’t so many reasons to stay.

After a harrowing stint in the Oakland Police Department, sheriff’s deputy Chase McKee has returned home a hero, and yet he feels anything but. And when he finds out Bailey might be leaving for good, the feelings he’s always harbored for his best friend’s cousin just won’t stay hidden. He knows she wants to get the heck out of Dodge, but he’s hoping to show her where she really belongs—with him.

Will this Wild Hart turn her back on love, or will she realize her heart really belongs closer to home?

MY THOUGHTS

I've been impatiently waiting for Bailey's story since she made her first appearance in the series. She's spunky, sassy and a bit of a wild child but she's also incredibly selfless and family-oriented. In recent novels we've definitely seen more of her sass and free spirit and I loved being able to really get to the heart of her character and get her perspective. She's often under-appreciated and pigeon-holed as a flirt and a trouble-maker but she has a vulnerable side which she keeps protected from the gossips in town. Much like she hides her crush on the town's golden boy and her cousin's best friend, Chase McKee.

Chase has his own long hidden crush on Bailey but his sense of loyalty towards Justin and his feelings of guilt and inferiority over past regrets keep him from pursuing her. In his mind Bailey is looking for a fling not a relationship, and her dreams of leaving town and beginning her music career will inevitably leave him brokenhearted.

When things start to heat up between these two they can no longer hide the desire that's been brewing and the love which they've always been too afraid to reach for. There are so many great teasing moments between Chase and Bailey. They're playful and flirtatious and they really know how to push each other's buttons. I like the natural progression of their relationship and the way the author built the intensity in their romance, slowly drawing them closer and closer to a passionate release. There's no insta-love here. There's the building of a strong emotional foundation of both friendship and intimacy, and a slow burn that just gets hotter.

Apart from my obvious love of Bailey as a heroine, there were some honorable mentions in the supporting character category whom I can't wait to see get their own story. Blake is a joker with a heart of gold and I can't wait to get more dirt on him! But I think Gage is really my big future book boyfriend in this series. There's just something so appealing about him (besides the description of him as big and muscly - because yum). He's got that whole sweet/funny/charming trifecta going on. Sigh. Mamma wants Gage's story soon. And if his ladylove just happened to be a curvy, introverted but sassy heroine I might just be the happiest romance reader on the block!

WILD AT HEART is a perfect addition to the Healing Harts series. It's sweet and sexy, and packed with all the small-town drama and family dynamics I've come to expect from T.J. Kline's romances. It's a great friends-to-lovers romance where you really get to the heart of these two spunky characters and see the depths which they've been concealing. An awesome read which really leaves me wanting even more from the series! Well done, T.J.

Disclosure: I received this book free in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions shared are my own.

T. J. Kline was raised competing in rodeos and rodeo queen competitions since the age of 14, She has thorough knowledge of the sport as well as the culture involved. She has had several articles about rodeo published in the past in small periodicals as well as a more recent how-to article for RevWriter. She is also an avid reader and book reviewer for both Tyndale and Multnomah.